Recommendations & Requests

Angled view of library's fiction shelves
User headset icon

Ask a Librarian

Reference staff are available to help you find your next book check out. We welcome your questions!

Call the Tamarack District Library at 989-352-6274 during open hours for quick assistance or email us at info@tamaracklibrary.org and we will reply within two business days.

Open hand icon

Make a Request

Still not finding the materials you want/need after looking at the entire Lakeland Library Cooperative collection? Request newer books through the catalog, or complete our request form to suggest something we should add to our collection.

*We do our best to fulfill TDL patrons requests but we can not always due to cost and availability.  If we cannot fulfill the request after 6 months we will dismiss the request.

Icon of two speech bubbles with question and check mark

Get a Recommendation

Need help finding the next thing to read? Leave it to our staff! Answer a few questions about what you like to read and a member of our staff will contact you with a personalized list of suggestions based on your preferences.

Open book and reader icon

Book Clubs

Discover your next favorite read by joining one of our book clubs! Diverse genres are explored, sparking thought-provoking discussions. All are welcome! Connect through stories.

Recommendations

Image for "The Secret Message"

The Secret Message

1944, Poland. 'Take this message, keep it hidden.' Shaking, I tuck the torn slip of paper in between the loaves of bread. I pray I can make it through the bombed-out streets and into the tunnels beneath this broken city without being caught. If this secret falls into the wrong hands, my sisters' lives are at stake...

This heart-wrenching and unforgettable World War Two novel is inspired by the incredible true stories of the brave women who fought in the Warsaw Uprising.

Hana's home has gone up in flames; the little bakery at the heart of the city is no more. Smoke curls into the sky and the buildings around her burn. But Hana has already lost far more - her blue-eyed fiancé was wrenched from her arms at the start of the war and her brave father was murdered by the Nazis. She's determined to protect her younger sisters but every day more people are being killed...

Hana realises that one person alone won't win the war and she has to accept her sisters are playing their own part in the resistance. Fiery Zuzi is working as part of a secret all-female combat unit while gentle Orla is a nurse in the underground hospital. As the women of Warsaw plan to rise up against the enemy, Hana risks her life to navigate the dangerous streets. The torn piece of paper she clutches in her hand has the potential to save her precious family.

It's time to fight back. But when the moment they've been waiting for comes, will Hana and her sisters finally win back their freedom? Or will they lose their own lives as they fight for their futures...?

An emotional and gripping WW2 story of incredible courage against all odds and of the power of love and hope in the darkest of times. Perfect for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Orphan Train and The Nightingale.

What readers are saying about The Secret Message:

'Absolute cracker... Rollercoaster of a ride, I laughed, I cried, I actually sat on the edge of my seat... I had every bit of emotion wrung out of me and just absolutely adored the characters... Absolutely heart-wrenching.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Gripping... Excellent... Heartbreaking and heart-warming... It leaves you shattered, it throws a punch in the stomach but it's so, so good. I urge everyone to read this.' bookedmybook, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Hooked from start to finish... A real page-turner that will tug at your heartstrings... Gripping.' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Wow!... Had me desperate to read just one more chapter... Gripping... Everything I want from a book!' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 

Image for "An Inside Job"

An Inside Job

Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon must solve the perfect crime in the dazzling new tale of murder, greed, and corruption from #1 New York Times bestselling novelist Daniel Silva.

"Daniel Silva spins a yarn better than any living author and I appreciated the chance to disappear into a great book, if only for a single night (there is no stopping a Silva book once I've begun). --Todd Wilkins, Best Thriller Books

Sometimes the only way to recover a stolen masterpiece is to steal it back . . .

Gabriel Allon has been awarded a commission to restore one of the most important paintings in Venice. But when he discovers the body of a mysterious woman floating in the waters of the Venetian Lagoon, he finds himself in a desperate race to recover a lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci.

The painting, a portrait of a beautiful young girl, has been gathering dust in a storeroom at the Vatican Museums for more than a century, misattributed and hidden beneath a worthless picture by an unknown artist. Because no one knows that the Leonardo is there, no one notices when it disappears one night during a suspicious power outage. No one but the ruthless mobsters and moneymen behind the theft -- and the mysterious woman whom Gabriel found in a watery grave in Venice. A woman without a name. A woman without a face.

The action moves at breakneck speed from the galleries and auction houses of London to an enclave of unimaginable wealth on the French Riviera -- and, finally, to a shocking climax in St. Peter's Square, where the life of a pope hangs in the balance. An elegant and stylish journey through the dark side of the art world and the Vatican's murky finances, An Inside Job proves once again that Daniel Silva is the reigning master of international intrigue and suspense.

Image for "Bones at the Crossroads"

Bones at the Crossroads

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In the sequel to the “unforgettable” (People), New York Times bestselling fantasy debut Blood at the Root, a Black teenager with magical powers returns to Caiman University only to find new dangers and new secrets.

It's Homecoming season at Caiman University, and all 17-year-old Malik Baron wants to do is be a regular college student…or as regular as he can get at a magical HBCU for young, Black Conjurers. He’s ready to go to parties, hang out with his new friends, choose a major, and talk to girls. Instead, he's reeling from a summer of revelations, heartbreak and betrayal, and still uncovering the truth about his powers and his legacy. 

The family he only just discovered is already fractured beyond repair, and a new relative who shows up on his doorstep brings even more questions. Then there’s the mother he risked everything to find, who might be the biggest threat to the life he's trying to build. To protect his new community, Malik joins an elite secret society with roots in ancient magic.

His journey takes him even deeper into his own heritage and the history of the magical world, while bringing him closer to a classmate whose friendship might mean something more, if Malik is ready to let her in. But how can he use powers he can’t even control to defend a world he’s not sure will ever fully accept him? And as the pressure and danger builds, will he be able to confront the deepening cracks within the magical society, and those building within himself?

Resources for Readers

Novelist Plus

Novelist Plus database logo

Explore fiction by genre such as mystery, romance, or adventure, find lists of award-winning books, read book reviews, and more.

View Resource

Novelist k-8

Novelist K-8 database logo

Find just the right book by subject, age, awards won, books made into movies, and much more. Read reviews and learn about the author. Create your own reading wish list.

View Resource

What's next? From the Kent District Library

Kent District Library logo with pink, yellow, and green graphics

This search engine helps you find the next books in a series.

View Resource